Messages - Corax

Are they overloaded with current packs Darth_Anton or older packs? From the latest round of Q and A's it sounds like the comic packs are a go for the Spring of 2010 and they are hopeful that what is out there now sells through during the holiday season.

So what about stores that are below the required number? My local Wal-Mart has below their required number to replenish and nothing's being shipped to them. The other thing I wonder is do we even know if DC's have more to ship out once the store hits the magic number?

I guess the question I'm left with now is how are comic packs ordered? Is it like basice figures that are automatically re-ordered by the system once a certain amount sells or is it all done manually? I know my local Wal-Mart is set up to re-order automatically but are they all like that? The reason why I ask that is because it changes the landscape if the store's computers are placing the orders and there isn't anything there to replenish the stock, rather than an independent department manager saying 'Oh these aren't selling.' I guess the easiest way to find out what's going on with these is either a direct question to Hasbro or see what the bigger chains of Wal-Marts and Targets do during their next reset.

Alright thanks for the clarification on distribution So how does Hasbro fix the problem? Do the comic packs that debuted at SDCC get moved to retailer exclusives or boxed sets? Are boxed sets a viable alternative to comic packs? Would you rather get 2 figures and a comic for $13 or 5 figures for around $40? Personally I could see some of these getting moved in that direction, I would gladly pay $40 for a 5 pack of Legacy characters or KotOR characters.

Ok I have to ask, how do you limit them? Are we just talking about the characters that Hasbro chooses? The amount of comic packs released per year? If your local stores have room for new comic packs and they aren't receiving them isn't that a distribution problem?

Right now the blame does fall squarely on the shoulders of distribution. The part about character selection comes from Hasbro saying that the comic packs have to sell well through 2010 in order to continue. If we get all that has been advertised for the end of this year and the new stuff for next year as well with fewer Marvel packs and repacks clogging the pegs then the comic packs should sell through. But all of that is based off of the comic packs hitting the shelves in the first place.

The thing is though Scott is that Hasbro has maintained that the comic packs have been strong sellers. The problems really started this year with the horrible distribution. If the comic packs would have hit the shelves like they were planned to we wouldn't be at this point at all.

I just went through the Q & A compendium here and found these answers from Hasbro concerning the comic packs:

A very big lack of Marvel Star Wars Comic Packs, although the one you are bringing out Lumiya/Luke Skywalker rocks and I am glad to have the chance to pick this one up, can I also ask if you are going to bring out any of the following characters from the Marvel Star Wars Comic Packs - Crimson Jack and Jolli, Jaxxon and Amaiza, Cody Sunn-Childe and Demon - also when will the next Marvel Star Wars Comic Pack be available after the Lumiya/Luke one and what will it be. (RS, 2009-08-20)

There are no plans for any of those characters, but there is an opportunity for them to appear in the Fans' Choice Poll and if so, we will consider them. Although, given each of their extremely brief appearances in the Marvel run, we wouldn't expect them to be higher on the rankings of most fans than, say, Valance the Hunter, Rik Duel, Dani, or even Kiro (none of which are in the upcoming lineup, either). There *are* two Marvel packs slated for next year, the next one appearing in late spring as a Wal-Mart exclusive, which will be revealed at Toy Fair.

Seems hopes are pretty high at Hasbro if they plan on revealing more at the 2010 Toy Fair!!

I know you don't want to get into financial figures, but I'm wondering how well the comic packs are doing and if they will be around for the foreseeable future. I hope they are here for the long term since there are so many great characters left to make. Knights of the Old Republic and Invasion need their first figures, and dark side Leia from A New Hope Infinities could be a cool one too (hint hint)! (SWC, 2009-08-20)

We have a lot of heart for the Comic Packs, since some of the most exciting stories from the EU have been told in comics and there are somany exciting characters to draw from. That said, the line does need a boost as it's been a little sluggish versus expectations. We have beenworking on a lot of new and exciting figure tools (see this fall's lineup for an example!) and hope that fans share the same excitement we have. Right now, we are planning comic packs to run through 2010 at least, but we really do need fan support for all the packs to ensure that we continueon a healthy pace through 2010.

Ok so Hasbro plans to run the comic packs through 2010 at least, awesome I'm so excited. Now if Hasbro would actually get the new comic packs sent out to the stores I could support the comic pack line

How many figures can we expect to see in 2010 for the non Clone Wars collectors, and how many Comic 2-packs? (TPU, 2009-09-10)

There will be approximately 45 figures in the Legacy basic figure lineup for 2010, about the same number of basic figures that will be available in 2009. As for Comic Packs, we don't want to make release any numbers right now as the exact number is still up in the air.

WHAT?!? Why don't you know Hasbro? Is it because there are so many awesome characters to choose from? Is it because you still have a ton from this year to release? Is it because distribution sucks so bad that fans can't even find the most recent wave at retail?

I'm trying to hold on to the hope that the comic packs continue. They are alot of figures that I want for my own collection. I could easily see these become an exclusive line though as well. I love how it's up to us to keep this line going even though distribution for the comic packs sucks. I haven't even seen the newest wave at all, ever. Now I can go out and buy Leia/Xizor and the Marvel packs anywhere, but the stuff I really want, not at all. Hasbro needs to realize that fans don't want their Mandalorians in pastels and Sexy-time Leia should never have come with Xizor. Better choices Hasbro, better choices and this line wouldn't be suffering at all.

I'm curious on which version of the Solo twins we'll get? Heir to the Empire series babies? (probably not) NJO Teenagers? Legacy of the Force Adults?

When asked about this by SSG back in December Hasbro said:

SSG: You said in a recent answer that the Solo twins, while difficult to do because of limited visual references, were high on your wish list. Hypothetically speaking, if you were to make these long-request characters, which versions would you do? Young Jedi Knights (there's a good picture of them in the recent Jedi vs. Sith guide), NJO-era Jedi Knights (probably the most requested versions, and based on Japanese cover art which is probably the largest body of visual reference for these characters and was even used by the Official Site as its EU menu before the redesign) or Legacy of the Force-era (with the added advantage that an alternate head and lightsaber and removable cape would allow you to do Jacen and Caedus as one figure)?

Hasbro: If we did them, hypothetically speaking, it would be the New Jedi Order-era, based on the Japanese cover art. This would be the most solid selection for the exact reasons you have pointed out - prevalence and familiarity with the character images. If we ever did Caedus, it would have to be new sculpt since the NJO-version would not work for a retrofit.

On the front of Legacy not selling well/collector interest is down I would like to point this comment out from Hasbro in their answer to SSG:

Last Fall, however, we saw a change. There was an overall reduction of collector dollars in the action figure collecting hobby to which Star Wars was not immune, and we saw this on a more granular level in the sell-through of purely collector-target figures. While the hero figures (Obi-Wans, Anakins, Lukes, Vaders, troopers, etc) continued to do very well, the collector figures really started to struggle compared to all past years. This resulted in a need to recalibrate our release levels for these figures, since without that recalibration the normal releases we would make on purely collector figures would now be too large for the current collector market to bear, pegs would really start to back up, and the whole Legacy/Droid Factory figure flow would grind to a halt - in short, a disaster, unless corrective measures were taken.

I don't really think this is fair to put on the collector's shoulders. In my area from around the time the new figures hit the shelves in July until Novemember that's all that was available, aside from TCW animated figures which sold well. Now wave 2 moved very well and the main charcters from the first wave sold well. My area then got bombarded with Saga figures. So of course the "main" characters sold well that's really the only choice we had in my area. It really seemed that there was at least 5 Yarnas apiece for every collector in the known universe. So I think it's a smart move by Hasbro to cut back on the production numbers of collector-oriented figures, just don't put the blame on the collector's shoulders when crappy distribution of newer figures played a role in what a collector could buy.

For those wondering or who haven't seen it yet Adam May over at GH updated his post. He confirms the box is a Deluxe Tranformers case that's next to the Death Star and it measures in at 7 and 1/2 inches. Oh and he finally credits Delaton for taking the photo. Adam May also says this could be the right scale for the "Dream" Death Star.